Microalgae, Functional Genomics and Biotechnology

Abstract

Microalgae have been studied for decades, but a new wave of research has recently begun as part of the search for renewable and sustainable energy sources. For economic optimization, microalgal biomass is being considered as a whole (main products and co-products) in an overall 'biorefinery' concept. Applications of microalgae cover a broad spectrum, including the food and (livestock) feed industries, bioenergy, cosmetics, healthcare and environmental restoration or protection. In the field of biotechnology, the access to genomic data is playing a growing role. As the cost of sequencing strategies has fallen, studies of gene function at the transcript, protein and biosynthesis pathway levels have multiplied. Notably, sequencing and mass spectrometry technologies are used to delineate the pathways of lipid synthesis, which will be valuable for the future application of microalgae in the biotechnology and biofuel industries. Another field making an applied use of genomics is the 'cell factory' approach, which uses the cell to manufacture (express) natural or recombinant proteins for diverse purposes. In this chapter, we present a vision of the potential future of genomics in the biotechnology of microalgae from several points of view.

Exocellular Polysaccharides in Microalgae and Cyanobacteria: Chemical Features, Role and Enzymes and Genes Involved in Their Biosynthesis

“…Transcriptome data have been used for phylogenomics, although postgenomic approaches to study physiology and metabolism are possible (Cadoret et al 2012 ). For example, through the "Marine Microbial Eukaryotic Transcriptome project" ( www.marinemicroeukaryotes.org ), 39 transcripomes have been sequenced, allowing a for a better understanding of synthetic pathways and regulation networks of microalgalderived compounds.…”

Microalgal biofuel revisited: An informatics-based analysis of developments to date and future prospects

“…In addition, the pace of the available understanding of microalgae is obviously increasing with sequencing and genomes technologies, post-genomics technologies, genetic tools, proteomic technologies and metabonomics technologies, which have already made major contributions to fundamental research on photosynthetic microalgae (e.g., Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) in the fields of functional biology and the exploration of metabolic pathways and biological processes, and will accelerate the commercialisation of alga-derived compounds by providing a framework for hypothesis-based strain improvement programs built on an improved fundamental understanding of the specific pathways and regulation networks [79].…”

New challenges in microalgae biotechnology

“…Today we know some 50,000 microalgal species, but estimates suggest more than 500,000 species are spread over the suitable habitats on Earth (Cadoret et al 2012). In order to raise the number of isolates and increase the chance of getting interesting new microalgal biotypes with novel enhanced characteristics for biofuel production or with rare metabolic trades, the research into phylogenomics will certainly grow in the following years.…”

“…These products can be applied, either directly or after transformation, in industrial, pharmaceutical and agro-food processes; examples are carotenoids, oils, polysaccharides, pigments, bioethanol, hydrogen, microalgal biomass (León et al 2008;Finazzi et al 2010;Cadoret et al 2012). Indeed, some microalgal species accumulate important amounts of these compounds under specific environmental conditions, so this biotechnologically relevant phenotypic feature is amenable to optimization by genetic engineering approaches (León et al 2008, Cadoret et al 2012). …”